Showing posts with the label France

The Forgeries of Denis Vrain-Lucas

Dec 2, 2022

One Monday morning in July 1867, eminent French mathematician Michel Chasles stormed into the building of the French Academy of Sciences in ...

Marie Lafarge: The Arsenic Poisoner

Nov 26, 2022

In the early 19th century, arsenic was most widely used to kill rats and insufferable husbands alike. The chemical element was odorless and ...

Claude Ambroise Seurat: The Living Skeleton

Oct 20, 2022

Freak shows were a very popular medium of entertainment in Europe and the United States of America for the major part of the 19th century. T...

Pierre Picaud: The Real Count of Monte Cristo

Sep 30, 2022

Alexandre Dumas’s literary classic The Count of Monte Cristo is one of Dumas’s most famous and beloved novels, but this satisfying tale of ...

The Slaves of Tromelin Island

Sep 12, 2022

On the night of July 31, 1761, a frigate of the French East India Company named Utile , captained by Jean de La Fargue, and carrying a contr...

Félicette: The Cat Who Went to Space

Sep 8, 2022

During the early years of space flight, animals were frequently flown into space and their bodies examined to investigate the various physio...

Who Was The Man in The Iron Mask?

Jun 17, 2022

The man in the iron mask has been a historical enigma since the 18th century. Born circa 1658, he became a prisoner that hopped across the t...

The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower—Twice!

Jun 6, 2022

Even if you think you know who Victor Lustig is, you don’t. Beyond the charming salutations, the livid scar on his left cheekbone and the ma...

Pont Ambroix

May 25, 2022

Pont Ambroix, also called the Ambrussum Bridge, was a major Roman bridge across the Vidourle River connecting the end of Villetelle to Galla...

History’s Strangest Duel Was Fought in Blimps

May 21, 2022

They say that every action arises from either love or hate. Imagine then, what a creative catastrophe would unfold if a man was inspired by ...